1--Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an equipment for distributing and connecting first optical fibers emerging from first cables to second optical fibers emerging from second cables respectively, by means of connectors. Each connector connects an end of a respective first fiber to an end of a respective second fiber. The invention in particular deals with an equipment in the form of a box or a cabinet inside which the fibers can be mixed in order to alter the connections between the first and second optical fibers.
2--Description of the Prior Art
In such an equipment, the fiber-to-fiber connectors are generally in the form of small flat or cylindrical cases disposed side by side in a straight row and attached to a support such as the base of the box. The ends of the first fibers are inserted into the connectors on one side of the row of connectors, and the ends of the second fibers are inserted into the connectors through the other side of the row. In general, the fibers are coiled into spare loops after they emerge from the cables and before they are inserted into the connectors. The spare loops of the first and second fibers are either placed on either side of the connector row, between the parallel end-walls of the box through which the cables pass via grommets, or laterally in relation to the row of connectors. A spare loop constitutes a reserve fiber length should an incident arise requiring recutting of an end portion of the fiber.
In any case, the fibers are inserted perpendicular to the row of connectors and they are therefore parallel to each other in the connectors. Since the first fibers, respectively the second fibers, follow substantially the same path in the equipment between the sheathed ends of the cables and the row of connectors, it is necessary to provide different lengths of the fibers before insertion into their respective connectors, so that the fiber length is sufficient for it to reach the connector into which it is to be inserted. This difference in length is all the more pronounced as the number of connectors, possibly up to 100 or 200, increases. If such an arrangement is not made when preparing the fibers, for example if all the fibers are cut to a length such that any fiber can be inserted in the connector farthest from the point at which the fiber bundle fans out in the direction of the connectors, the fibers inserted into the closest connectors to the point at which the bundle fans out will be excessively long causing tangling of the fibers and a risk of fiber cracking and breaking.
These drawbacks can occur again when one wishes to modify the connections between the first and second fibers. For example, and as is generally the case in practice, the first fibers are allocated once and for all to predetermined connectors, and second fibers can be inserted in the remaining available connectors or interchanged with other second fibers depending on operational needs. It is clear that the operation to extract a fiber from a connector located at one end of the row and insert it into another connector at the other end of the row is cumbersome and necessitates moving the other fibers with all the attendant risks of tangling and damage in order to provide access to the two connectors.